8 August @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

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THE NEWLY DISCOVERED MACEDONIAN TOMB at AMPHIPOLIS

The Macquarie University Faculty of Arts and the Macquarie Ancient History Association are proud to announce a Public Lecture.

Professor Gregory Tsokas (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)

INVESTIGATIONS AT KASTAS HILL, AMPHIPOLIS

Tuesday, August 8th at 6:30 p.m.The Australian Hearing Hub, Lecture Theatre, First Floor, 6 University Avenue, Macquarie University

The Kasta Hill Site at Amphipolis is one of the most exciting archaeological discoveries this century. Initial
excavations at the mound in 1964 led to exposure of the perimeter wall, and further excavations in the 1970s
uncovered other ancient remains, but the real discovery (of an enormous Macedonian burial) came in 2012. This
was followed by entry into the tomb in August 2014. The site was immediately put under round-the-clock
surveillance. The tumulus is the largest ever discovered in Greece and dwarfs by comparison that of Philip II,
father of Alexander, at Vergina. The excavation team has argued that this was a memorial dedicated to
Alexander’s Companion, Hephaestion.

The geophysical and geological investigations on “Kastas” started in November 2014 and they are on-going.
Professor Tsokas will outline the studies of the geological and artificial strata and the dating performed on
charcoal samples. These geophysical investigations employed both conventional and innovative approaches to
image the interior of the tumulus and the subsurface of its surroundings. Many locations of anomalous
resistivity have been located and imaged and these will provide the target for the future excavations.

Professor Gregory Tsokas is the Professor of Geophysics in the School of Geology and Director of the
Laboratory of Exploration Geophysics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He has been the editor of the
journal of the Balkan Geohysical Society since 1997. He has experience from 340 archaeological sites
throughout Greece and in, inter alia, Albania, Jordan, and Kuwait. He is currently co-operating with an
Australian team in the investigation of ancient Torone in the Chalkidiki. He is, in August 2017, a Macquarie
University Faculty of Arts Visiting Professor.

This event is Free and Open to All, but for catering purposes, please RSVP to Dr Lea Beness (lea.beness@mq.edu.au)